Telecommunications are rapidly moving away from the past when national network operators only offered their customers a subscription for their local or home network. This may be considered to be a direct connection.
The needs of subscribers is also changing—no longer just limited to voice communication, they now also require a wide range of data services in an international setting.
The mobile apparatus of the user has evolved from a mobile telephone into a mobile terminal resembling a computer with, for example, the ability to send and receive e-mails, to access the Internet, and to provide voice communication.
Typically, the subscriber has a subscription for one home network. To identify the subscriber and to secure the connection to the network, the mobile apparatus comprises a Subscriber Identification Module (SIM), which holds the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), network specific keys and other parameters. This subscriber and network specific data allows registration with the home network—they are highly confidential and are only disclosed to the manufacturer of the SIM.
As a subscriber moves from country to country, he will be confronted with the need to switch from network to network. Currently, the process of identifying and registering with a foreign network (that is, any network which is not the subscriber's home network) is highly automated and usually requires no direct input from the user—this is called roaming. This is made possible by the home network operator making roaming agreements with the network operators in different countries—when a subscriber tries to access a foreign network, a check is first made if he is entitled to use the network under such a roaming agreement. This check typically includes the mobile apparatus transmitting its IMSI. The foreign network then checks to see whether the subscriber is permitted to use the network and under what conditions, usually by making an inquiry to the home network. This may be considered to be an indirect connection.
Often, the services provided by a foreign network will be limited compared to the services that the subscriber would enjoy on his home network. Additionally, the charges to the subscriber for the use of foreign network are generally higher under roaming agreements. Further disadvantages are that the established inter-network billing mechanisms prevent service-specific charging to a certain degree, that data communication suffers if it must be routed to/from the home network, and that emergency calls have to be routed according to network-inherent location information.
Internationally-acting non-telecom companies, such as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) and Mobile Virtual Network Enablers (MVNEs), are becoming more prevalent, increasing the choice for the subscriber. MVNO's and MVNE's who want to operate internationally have to provide services in all their markets. Therefore, they either team up with one home network and accept that the available services outside that home network will be very restricted and/or expensive, or they team up with multiple network operators creating a complex system for their subscribers.